Gary S. This is a case study interview with Gary, a junior partner in a mid-sized regional firm. You’ll read about Gary’s struggle
with taking ownership of his power with a strong managing partner, and his candid sharing about how his fears were stopping
him in all areas of his professional life. Gary describes how by letting go of those fears, he discovered his true power, a power that is
now transforming his client relationships. Gary’s enjoying success in ways he never thought possible.

You joined the Masters Program as a junior partner. I
believe you were facing challenges with acceptance by
partners?
It’s a big challenge, breaking into that inner circle of power. What
we’ve learned in Masters is about letting go of the fear of what
might happen, and just being yourself. You taught us about
openness and vulnerability, about being ourselves. The fear is, I’m
out on a limb, and the managing partner is the trunk. If he cuts o;
that limb, I fall into the abyss of non-acceptance, of not being part
of the group, not being heard, not achieving some of the goals I
want to because maybe they are considered stupid.

So the whole idea of putting yourself out on a limb, and having
somebody cut the branch o;, is the fear.

What have you learned, and what have you let go of?
The biggest thing I learned is that we are very knowledgeable about
a lot of things, but we do a poor job of relaying it to clients. We don’t
share it with clients because we are fearful it might get rejected.
By letting go of that fear, I can talk about this whole idea of what
we can do to make their life better. Whether it be simply getting
tickets to the local ball game tonight, or something very deep like a
cultural change in your business that allows you to go on your two
week vacation, I can do whatever I want to do. I’ve always had this
knowledge, and now I have even more. But the fear of sharing it, I
don’t have that fear anymore. The letting go process allows me to
be a better person, and a better business advisor.